BROADWAY ADVOCACY COALITION Announces Class Of Fellows For Artivism Fellowship

The Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC) announces the class of fellows selected to participate in the second annual BAC Artivism Fellowship, created to support artist-activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them.

The selected fellows include ML Roberts (he/him; performance artist & writer; Iowa City, IA), KB (they/them; poet, essayist, and cultural worker; Fort Worth, TX) , Farah Habad (he/him; poet and organizer; Minneapolis, MN), Davia Spain (she/her; performance artist, musician, and filmmaker; Los Angeles, CA), Janai Lashon (she/her; Theater practitioner; Kalamazoo, MI), Jasmine Leeward (they/them; filmmaker; Richmond, VA), Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez (they/them; multi-hyphenate; Brooklyn, NY), and Immanuel Simone (she/they; multi-hyphenate; New Orleans, LA).

The Fellowship will provide financial support, mentorship, networking opportunities and pedagogy workshops for the group of eight Black, Indigenous, Artists of Color across the Latinx, Asian, and African Diaspora. Each artist uses narrative or stories in their work in order to impact systemic racism and criminal justice reform.

"This dynamic cohort of artivists are using their radical imaginations to show us new possibilities," said Andrea Ambam, Artivism Fellowship co-facilitator and mentor. "Their artivism projects embody "good trouble" and belong on stages, on screens, in classrooms, and beyond! I am incredibly honored to help grow artists who refuse to let the fire in all of us, further emboldened by the events of 2020, die out."

BAC received more than 180 applications for the Fellowship from across the country for the inaugural class. In December, the mentors and nomination committee reviewed the applications, selecting the 8 individuals who most reflected the values of BAC. The nominating committee for the fellowship included Bianca LaVerne Jones, Ariana Asfar, Chalia La Tour, Rad Periera, Clint Ramos, and Deray McKesson.

"What an incredible opportunity to support such creative, unique, and bold artists. I am so grateful to be in a position to share space, nurture, and cheer on this year's Fellows" said Fellowship mentor Rae Perez. "All of the artivists in this cohort are deeply committed, passionate, and deliberate in their work, and I'm so excited to see what they create, and how we can help them bring their visions to fruition."

Broadway Advocacy Coalition is an arts-based advocacy nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity of individuals and organizations to dismantle the systems that perpetuate racism through the power of storytelling and the leadership of people directly affected.

"Reimagining Abolition is an exciting and intentional opportunity for our artivist fellows, to help us dream beyond the now. Through their work we all are reminded that our freedom is limited. We know now, the same oppressive systems we suffer under, can not liberate us" said Artistic Director Chesray Dolpha "We need new strategies of love and care in our black and brown communities and this cohort of fellows will help us reimagine a new world, where we truly are free and our art is centered."

The Broadway musical Wicked is proud to be the lead sponsor of the BAC Artivism Fellowship.

For more information, visit https://www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/artivismfellowship.

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